An off the charts crew, incredible spots and moments that we will never forget. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the second part of the Empire Morocco trip. Enjoy!
Photos: Dan Mathieu / Phil Lajeunesse / Jake Cormier
Day 6: The road to the south
After an unforgettable night in the Sahara Desert, it was time to hit the road again and get back into skate mode. Next destination: Agadir, the Eldorado of Moroccan skate spots. Ouarzazate and Marrakesh were really good, but according to our guide Karim, Agadir would seriously go beyond our expectations for skate spots.
Before enjoying the many rails, ledges, stairs and other spots that Agadir would offer us, we obviously had to brave the hard road that would take us there. Why "hard" ? Because 10 guys who didn’t shower for a few days crammed into a mini-van for 10 hours through the chaotic roads of the Anti-Atlas Mountains can be harsh. Nevertheless, we finally got there and as Karim said, Agadir was filled with some of the most perfect spots we had ever seen. Tomorrow is definitely going to be a skate day!
Days 7 to 10: Agadir and Taghazout
Our guide had booked 2 apartments for us in the town of Taghazout, a small surf community located right on the beach. A 20 minutes drive from Agadir, it was the perfect location to lay our heads before skating. In addition, a large number of skaters were already in town to help build its brand new skatepark, an initiative of the local community and the Levis Skateboarding company. With all these ingredients, we were definitely back in skate mode. YEAH!
Our first morning in Tahgazout was good. It’s sunny, hot and the guys are more than ready to go skate. Our first day there went really well! We came back that night with several clips and photos. Everyone was happy, but things quickly took an unexpected turn. Unfortunately, mishaps are also part of the traveler’s reality. Bad situations usually suck when they happen, but are often the ones we remember the most at the end of the day.
After landing a backside 50-50 on a big marble ledge, Cody Cormier proceeded to try it again in order to take a picture of it, but missed his attempt and quickly found himself shaking at the bottom of the stairs. We were all really scared. We thought he had hit his head, that we would have to send him back to Canada. We didn’t know what to do. Our driver Omar and our guide Karim once again had our backs and took charge of the situation by taking Cody to the nearest private hospital. Public ones are not very good in Morocco.
We were all very happy to learn that Cody only had a dislocated finger and a bruised shoulder, nothing serious considering his reaction when he slammed. According to the doctor, the shock made him act this way. As the saying goes, more fear than harm.
The days that followed were not easy either. Victim of food poisoning, half of the group got sick and had to stay at home while the rest of the guys went to skate. Another travel reality. Still, everyone remained positive and managed to appreciate their last days in Morocco. After three days of skateboarding and frequent visits to the bathroom, it was time to go back to Casablanca and fly to Montreal.
Thanks Morocco for having us! Stay tuned on our social networks for more coverage of the trip and take a look at the next issue of SBC skateboard magazine for the trip’s official full article.
Next stop : Montreal!